The scheme will help students prepare for the arrival of athletes and visitors from around the world to their towns, cities and communities ahead of the Games.

Launched to coincide with International Education Week, the new initiative, called ‘Support a Team’, is a major new strand of ‘Get Set goes global’ – the official London 2012 education programme, which aims to help students explore and demonstrate how sport brings the world together.

Schools will be encouraged to learn about the athletes and cultures of their chosen teams in the lead-up to the London 2012 Games and will be able to access free learning resources to help them to select their teams.

There will be up to 204 Olympic teams competing at London 2012 and there are many ways a school can select a team. Schools could choose a team their school or community already has a link with or that speaks a language spoken in their school. They may choose a team training near them at a Pre-Games Training Camp or by using the ‘team selector tool’ on the interactive map, available on the ‘Get Set goes global’ website.

Seb Coe, LOCOG Chair, said: “We have always said that we want every Olympic team to feel welcome on their arrival in the UK, while celebrating the multiculturalism and diversity of the UK. This is a fantastic example of how we plan to do that. The Get Set programme continues to inspire and engage young people across the UK and I am delighted to think that, through ‘Support a Team’, we will have a knowledgeable, interested and excited group of young supporters to welcome our athletes in 2012. I would urge all schools to select their teams now.”